Belguim National Holiday

Ascension to the Throne of King Leopold

Wednesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 21, Philadelphia bars will celebrate Belgian Independence Day with essential Belgian brewery and importer Duvel Moortgat. On July 21, 1831, the Belgian state separated from the Netherlands and declared its autonomy.

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometers (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Belgium has three official languages, which are (in order of size of the native speaking population of Belgium) Dutch, French and German.

Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin because of the Roman province Gallia Belgica which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the "Battlefield of Europe," a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.

Upon its independence, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of contrasts between the Flemish and the Francophones fuelled by differences of language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has caused far-reaching reforms, changing the formerly unitary Belgian state into a federal state, and several governmental crises, the most recent, from 2007 to 2011, being the longest.